The story is told that in a great debate about what makes Christianity unique that C.S. Lewis gave the answer, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.” Lewis stated that Christianity has a unique claim that God’s love comes free of charge with no strings attached. He also said that there was NO other religion on earth that could make this claim. That is true, and yet I believe one of the greatest sins and one sin that is committed more often than many others by God’s people today is that of taking God’s grace for granted. What does it mean to take something or someone for granted? TAKE FOR GRANTED = to fail to properly appreciate, especially as a result of over familiarity; to presume the presence of something or someone; to fail to show gratitude for someone or something. This often happens when we become accustomed to having something or someone around and assume it/they will always be there. As the definition says, it involves a lack of gratitude. Example: An employer may take an employee for granted and then be surprised when that employee quits to go to another job. Example: A child may take his/her parents’ love and constant help for granted, but when he/she gets out on their own, or when Mom and Dad are gone they suddenly realize all their parents did for them and meant to them. We live daily in the grace of God. We know that we are saved by grace - Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.” When we are saved we are “in” Christ, and Christ is “in” us. Colossians 1:27 says “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory . . . ” Now listen to what Paul said to the “superstitious” people of Athens - Acts 17:27-28: “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: (28) For in him we live, and move, and have our being . . . ” I repeat, we live daily in and by the grace of God! You woke up this morning by the grace of God. Do you Remember what David told Jonathan in I Samuel 20:3? “ . . . there is but a step between me and death.” You will survive this day by the grace of God. All God has to do, for He alone has the power of life and death, is to stop our hearts from beating, and we will leave this life in the flesh. Question: How often do consider, do you think about God’s grace? We sing that wonderful hymn “Amazing Grace,” but do we consider His grace on a daily basis (or just when we sing that hymn)? Do you know when I believe most of God’s people think about God’s grace (if they do at all)? It is probably most often after surviving some tragedy, some accident, or some surgery or illness. Then we may consider, “Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come. 'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” I say (for a third time) we are to understand that we live daily by and in God’s grace. I want us to consider just two questions today:

I. WHAT IS GRACE?

II. HOW DO WE TAKE THE GRACE OF GOD FOR GRANTED?

We have officially come to that time of year when there seems to be great controversy over whether to wish someone a merry Christmas or just say, “Happy Holidays.” The world says we are being exclusive and offensive by acknowledging Christ this time of year. They see no problem with our Jewish friends saying, “Happy Hanukkah” or others saying “Happy Kwanzaa,” but our naming the name of Jesus bothers them. Many want to make Jesus just one of several “teachers of good things” in this world while ignoring His deity. This is basically what the Gnostics of Paul’s day were trying to do in the church at Colossae. The first century religious environment was much like our own. It was a time of religious mixing, with people borrowing a little from this religion and a little from that religion. The Colossian Heresy” was a corruption of Christianity with elements of mystical and legalistic Judaism perhaps combined with early Gnosticism. Gnosticism denied that Jesus was fully God but that He was just one of many emanations from God with each one losing a bit of deity as he arose. Some Gnostic traditions viewed Jesus as a mere messenger sent to provide knowledge, which they say afforded salvation, even though Jesus taught that salvation comes through faith in Him, not secret knowledge. That is why Paul wrote in vs. 19, “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell . . . ” The title of our Lord fully expresses His deity, His humanity, and His office. He is the Lord (Master), Jesus (Savior), Christ (Messiah, Anointed One). In John 14:9 He said, “. . . he that hath seen me hath seen the Father . . . ” In John 10:30 we see Jesus saying, “I and my Father are one.” Listen to the testimony of God Himself in Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord . . . ” In His bodily appearance upon this earth Jesus was fully man and fully God. In Colossians Paul defends the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ before the Gnostics and declares the all-sufficiency of our Lord. Jesus is not just what we need; He is all we need, and we are sufficient in Him. I want us to see, first of all that . . .

I. IN JESUS THERE IS SUFFICIENCY -- VS. 19.

II. IN JESUS THERE IS SALVATION -- VV. 20-21.

III. IN JESUS THERE IS SANCTIFICATION -- VV. 22-23a.

IV. IN JESUS THERE IS SERVICE -- VV. 23b - 25.

Today there is a great misunderstanding about what a church is and its purpose. Some believe “the church” is some great, universal conglomerate of all of the saved of all the ages, regardless of their differences in beliefs concerning Bible doctrines. Some believe a church exists to supply physical food to the hungry, housing to the homeless, clothing to the destitute, etc., but that is not our purpose. A true, New Testament church is a local body of Scripturally baptized believers covenanted together to carry out the commands of the Lord by carrying the Gospel into the world. In other words, a church is a body, a fellowship of saved, baptized believers in a particular locale sharing the Savior with the lost world about us. Jesus has clearly shown us what He desires for His churches. He said we must love each other with a love that is so evident that when the world sees us, our love for Him and for each other points them to God. John 13:35: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” In the first 12 verses of this letter to the church at Colossae the Apostle Paul points out some things we have in common in one of the Lord’s true churches.

I. WE HAVE A MUTUAL POSITION - VV. 1-2.

II. WE HAVE A MUTUAL POSSESSION - VV. 3-6.

III. WE HAVE A MUTUAL PARTNERSHIP - VV. 7-10.

IV. WE HAVE A MUTUAL POWER - VV. 11-12.

Who, or what holds first place in your life? Some might say, “My spouse, my mate comes first. I would sacrifice everything for him/her. I would give my life to protect my mate.” Others might say, “My family, especially my children come first in my life. I would sacrifice my life to protect them.” Still others may say, “My job comes first. I have to work and make a living to take care of my family, so I put my job or my career first.” Some might say, “Being a success, being the best is the most important thing to me.” Sadly, I believe there are those in the world (hopefully none here) who would say, “Personal pleasure comes first in my life.” I have heard some very well meaning people make the statement, “The Lord is a big part of my life.” Now, we think we know what is meant by that statement, and might even find it somewhat commendable. However, all too often that statement is very literally true in the lives of many “Christians.” They tend to view Christ as only a part of the whole. He is only a part of their life. The fact is, Christ does not wish to be merely a part of our life, but to be the essence of it -- to be the life itself. There is something that is more important to me (and should be to every child of God) than being a good husband, or a good father, or a good pastor, or a good church member, or even a success in life! By this text you can see that it is making certain that Jesus Christ is first in all that I do. Do I always put Him first in everything? Sadly, and I am ashamed to admit it, not always. But Jesus must be first in our lives if we are to truly call Him “Lord.” He will not take second place. Luke 14:26-27: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (27) And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." Jesus was not just saying that we are to love Him so much that our love for these others appears as hatred in comparison. Instead, our love for Him must surpass our love for these others. We must love Him above everything and everyone else. Jesus never comes next. (No “. . . but first . . . ”) Luke 9:59-60: “And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. (60) Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.” 5. Dr. Vance Havner: “There has been a cheap, easy profession of Christ as Saviour but no real confession of Christ as Lord. The lips claim Him as Saviour but the life shows no evidence of His Lordship. We love the same things we have always loved; we do not abhor that which is evil, we live our own lives, Christ has no say in the matter.” No Jew would say, “Jesus is Lord” (Dr. A.T. Robertson) “who had not really trusted Christ, for Kurios in the Septuagint is used of God. No Gentile would do it who had not ceased worshipping the Emperor as Kurios. The word Kurios was and is the Touchstone of faith.” Vs. 18 says of Jesus, “That in all things he might have the preeminence.” (PREEMINENCE = to be first, hold the first place, or highest dignity). I will ask this again at the conclusion of the message, but What place does Jesus hold in your life? Note once again that our text says Jesus is the head of His churches, the beginning, the first born from the dead, that He might have the preeminence. Jesus must have the preeminence:

I. IN OUR CHURCH LIFE.

II. IN OUR DAILY (INDIVIDUAL) LIVES.

Have you ever felt that because you are a child of God your life should be a “bed of roses?” No problems, no pain, no difficulty? Were you disappointed when it wasn’t? Our text reveals what we can look forward to in this life -- sorrow, toilsome labor, pain, etc. Pain and suffering are a fact of life! We don't have to be in this body long until we learn this. Childhood illnesses (measles, mumps, chicken pox, etc.), skinned knees, broken bones, etc. all serve to acquaint us with this fact. Growing older does not help. Pain and illness usually increase with age. And look at Job’s observation in Job 14:1: “Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.” And these effects of sin will remain with the human race until the end of the age. Even God’s children are not immune from pain, illness, and suffering -- Psalm 34:19: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” Therefore, all believers need to learn how to deal with both physical and mental suffering. Job is a prime example of the things we may endure in this life. He suffered as much as a man could and not die. Not only did he suffer physically, but he suffered mentally as we see his “friends,” even his wife deserted him. (But God never deserted him!) Did you ever say, especially as a child, “I wish I had never been born?” Look at what Job said in Job 3:11: “Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?” In the New Testament we know that the Apostle Paul suffered a thorn in the flesh. Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:26-27) was sick almost to the point of death. Timothy apparently had a stomach problem along with, as Paul called them, “thine often infirmities” (I Timothy 5:23). In this message we will examine some of the reasons people, even God’s people, suffer pain and illness and suggest how we may deal with it. However, we must remember we may not always know the why of the suffering - especially in others. That is for God. The only one we might be sure of is the one that looks back at us from the mirror. In other words, learn from Job’s friends and be careful about judging why someone other than you may be sick or hurting.

I. WHY DO SAVED PEOPLE SUFFER?

II. HOW WE CAN DEAL WITH PAIN AND SICKNESS.

II. HOW WE CAN DEAL WITH PAIN AND SICKNESS.

Why do churches exist? For our entertainment? To provide programs to (physically) enrich and excite their members? Is it to babysit the kids on Sunday morning so their parents can catch up on the sleep? Ask that question, and you will get many different answers. Churches exist for many reasons. Some exist to honor a man. Maybe it is some church member from the past who was an active worker in the church and helped many people. Maybe it is a former pastor who led the church through some difficult times. Some exist to give pleasure and satisfaction to those meeting together. Entertainment would replace worship. Less Bible and more “stories.” Some exist as monuments to some preacher’s ego. There are “preachers” who seek this. Seek to be remembered for the material growth more than spiritual. Some even exist for the money. “Religion” seen as “good business.” There the pastor would be constantly asking people to give. But churches should exist for one reason and one reason alone, and that is to honor God. Ephesians 3:21 gives us the reason for our existence: “Unto him (God) be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” God’s Word tells us how to do that as it tells us of both our purpose and our work as one of the Lord’s churches. Our purpose is to glorify God. Does just the fact that we have a building and a sign claiming to be one of the Lord’s churches glorify Him? Does just having a “gathering of people” on Sunday morning glorify Him? Our work is carrying the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the world. Everything else we are supposed to do falls under one of these headings. We fulfill our purpose by performing our work. We have little value otherwise. What is our purpose and our goal for this church? I pray that it is to honor God. I believe it is. Are we honoring God by carrying out the work He gave us to do? Our text lists at least 6 characteristics of a church that honors God. Let’s check ourselves by these this morning and see if we are fulfilling our purpose as a church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. STEADFASTNESS -- VS. 9.

II. SERVING (AT THE ALTAR) -- VV. 10-11.

III. SUFFERING (THE REPROACH OF CHRIST) -- VV. 12-13.

IV. SEEKING (A CITY) -- VS. 14.

V. SPEAKING (THE PRAISES OF GOD) -- VS. 15.

VI. SHOWING (OF LOVE FOR OTHERS) -- VS. 16.

I believe one of the greatest promises in the Bible is the promise of our Lord’s continual presence with us in Hebrews 13:5 where the writer quotes Jesus' promise, “. . . for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” In the midst of trials, trouble, and tribulation, HE IS THERE! Even when we stray from His side, He never leaves us. Even when we cannot see Him because of the cloud of darkness we are in due to our sin, HE IS THERE - waiting and wanting His child to come back to Him. Remember the Old Testament account of the 3 Hebrew children who were thrown into the burning, firey furnace (Daniel 3:12-27)? They would not fall into line with the king’s false worship and spent the night on a bed of coals. In the morning when the king looked in (I don’t know what he was expecting to see) he saw them still there, unharmed, unbound, and with a fourth man. That fourth man was the Lord Jesus who didn’t leave them or forsake them so that they survived the might without even the smell of the fire on them. A spiritual “high” will quite often be followed by a spiritual “low.” Satan will see to that. Just a few chapters later on, in Matthew 17, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up into the mountain and was transfigured before them. But, when they came down, they were confronted by a man whose son was demon possessed. In the preceding verses in our text Jesus had just fed 5,000 men, plus the women and children by a wonderful miracle. Now the disciples find themselves on the Sea of Galilee in the middle of the storm, and it appears that Jesus sent them into it. Vs. 22: “And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side . . . ” (CONSTRAIN = to necessitate. It is translated in other places by the word “compel.” (II Corinthians 5:14 says the love of Christ “constraineth us” [to live for Him].) One preacher said of these verses in Matthew 14 that there is a sense in which we need to learn to “walk on the water.” We all need to trust the Lord Jesus as Peter did in these verses because trials and difficulties are coming to us if we will live for Him - especially in these last days. Paul said in II Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Jesus led His disciples into a storm in order to teach them a lesson, and we are going to consider that lesson this morning. First of all let’s look at . . .

I. THE PROBLEM OF THE STORM -- VV. 24-25.

II. THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SAVIOR -- VV. 25-27.

III. THE PROGRAM FOR THE SAINT -- VS. 26.

Nowhere in the Bible are we promised that the Christian life is going to be easy. In fact, the opposite is often true -- John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Difficulties and trials will come our way, and we may be tempted to quit on God. That is what was happening in the book of Hebrews. Believers were enduring a time of terrible persecution, and in light of that, the writer of the book is encouraging them to continue to be faithful to God. This race is not to the swift, but to those who endure to the end. Here the Christian life is compared to a race. And the writer isn’t talking about a 100 yard dash, but a marathon. A marathon requires endurance, training, and plenty of preparation. You may not be in the physical shape to run a marathon, but you can be (or get) in the spiritual shape to run this Christian race. We live in a time when runners seem to be dropping out of the race on every hand. These are days when it is easy to get discouraged. Trials and difficulties may tempt us to drop out and let others do the running. But this morning I want to share some steps with you that will help us run this race. I do not know what you may be facing as you run, but I do know doing the things revealed in these verses will help us be runners who are pleasing to God.

I. CONSIDER THE SAINTS -- VS. 1a.

II. CONSIDER SELF -- VV. 1b.

III. CONSIDER THE SAVIOR -- VV. 2-3.

We have heard the word “revival” mentioned in a message lately. Actually, “revival” is an Old Testament word. It is not found in the New Testament. The New Testament word is “repent.” As we saw last Sunday night in our study of the church at Ephesus this word refers to a change of mind that results in a change of direction. The Lord said to the church at Ephesus, the church that had left her “honeymoon love for Him,” “ . . . repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” That was His instruction to 5 of the 7 churches of Asia which needed some correction. We don’t hear much about churches having revival services these days. I haven’t heard of any such services anywhere in several years. For whatever my opinion is worth it seems that God’s people are just “too busy” with the things of this world to worry with a special time of getting right with Him. I shared a Vance Havner devotion dealing with that a couple of weeks ago. He said “The early church did not quake every time the ungodly had a spree in Jerusalem. The saints in Rome did not have the blues because attendance would be cut by a gladiatorial contest in the Colosseum. They had a robust, world-shaking power of their own that eventually put the Colosseum out of business.” Sometimes, all too often, revival services are little more than something “religious” we do in hopes of gaining God’s blessings. One church I pastored used to (and I guess still does) have “revival services” the last week in July “whether we need it or not.” (They needed it.) Many times these services are a “form of godliness” without the power of it. We often rate the success of a revival by the number of people that attended, or how many walk the aisles, etc. But the best way to find out if we have really had revival is to come back in six months and see if people are still committed to the Lord. In relation to the term “revival,” churches today are sometimes like Israel going after the Ark of the Covenant in I Samuel 4. They said, I Samuel 4:3, “Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.” It had become little more than a holy good luck charm to them. They may as well have said, “Let’s have a revival.” And we know the rest of the story. Israel was defeated, and the Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant. Finally, after defeat by their enemies, the whole nation began to lament after God. They were tired of playing games. Wanted a true relation and fellowship with the Lord. In response to that, Samuel told them what was necessary if they were to be blessed. I want to focus on vs. 3 of our text in this message. Let’s read it again: “And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” In this one verse Samuel told them what was needed if they were to return to the Lord and be blessed of Him. The same is true for us if we want to be revived today.

I. OUR RETURN MUST BE COMPREHENSIVE.

II. OUR RETURN MUST BE CONSISTENT.

III. OUR RETURN MUST ALSO BE COMMITTED.

IV. OUR RETURN MUST BE COMPLETE.

A few weeks ago I shared a message titled “Setting The Stage For The Man Of Sin.” That message laid out some of the things that have taken place and are taking place that appear to open the door for the coming of Antichrist. However, the recent announcement made by the Prime Minister of Great Britain not only opens the door, but invites the man of sin on in. Under the guise of preventing illegal immigration, the Prime Minister announced that every person in the nation will be assigned a digital ID. He stated that without this ID no one would be able to work or to get a job. What he did not say in his announcement is that no job means no income, and no income means the inability to purchase anything whether food, clothing, medicine, or any necessity, much less those things that are not considered necessities. While some columnists in Great Britain are calling this new law Orwellian in nature (as in George Orwell’s book 1984), it appears to be more satanic in nature and just the invitation the Antichrist needs to rise to power. We know that God’s Word prophesies that a man will arise who will assume authority as a one-world leader. The Bible gives 20 about different titles to this individual such as, Antichrist, The Beast, the son of perdition, man of sin, etc. Over the years there has been a great deal of speculation about who the Antichrist might be. The truth is, we do not know (yet) who he is, but I fully believe that he is alive and living on this earth NOW! I have wondered how the world could accept and even promote the teachings of someone whose thinking is so much against the Bible. But, The Bible answers our questions. In Matthew 24:11 Jesus said, “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” In vs. 24 of that same chapter the Lord said, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Satan is a deceiver, and when he brings the Antichrist, on the scene he will do it with such deception that, as we just read “if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” There are two mistakes preachers can make when preaching about the end times. First is the attempt to name a date for Christ’s return. In Matthew 24:36 Jesus said: “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” The second mistake many preachers make is in trying to name the Antichrist. This message is not about naming the Antichrist, but know this, the spirit of antichrist in already in this world. That’s what John said in I John 4:3, “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” And in I John 2:18 he warned, “. . . even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” Years ago we might have wondered how people all over the world could, at the same time, know who the Antichrist was and what he believed, but the explosion of technology took place, and today it is possible. Today, it is easy to see world-wide events in a moment. Technological advances are amazing, and the capability exists today for a world leader to promote his agenda instantly and visibly before everyone on the earth. There is coming and may already be prepared such a leader who is “waiting in the wings” about whom Revelation 13 tells us.

I. HIS APPEARING.

II. HIS ANCESTRY.

III. HIS APPEAL.

IV. HIS AMBITION.